Power of the Dragon A BoF I Novelisation
by LinkHammer
Summary: Ryu is a typical teenage boy excluding the blue hair . When the Dark Dragons destroy his hometown and capture his sister, Ryu sets out on a long jorney. Many friends and hardships will be found along the way, and maybe some romance Ryu X Nina later on.
1. Shadowing Darkness  A Journey Begins

Hi people, LinkHammer speaking.  
This story is a novelisation of the events that transpire in Breath of Fire I. Of course I have thrown in a few of my own scenes and dialouge. Unfortunately I can't really be bothered to get every single piece of dialouge right and so you will find many variations on the original text throughout this story. This is a new style of writing for me so anyone who can be bothered reading this story, just bear with me.  
Well I hope that you enjoy the story!

_'Breath of Fire' isn't owned by me. I have nothing to do with Breath of Fire except playing the game.  
'Breath of Fire' belongs to Capcom and Square Enix_  
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"Ryu!!............Ryu where are you?!!"

A beautiful woman with striking blue hair hurriedly walked through the centre of a small town, looking around everywhere for the person whom she was calling.

"Ryu!!............If you don't show up soon I will kill you…….if I find you."

**Meanwhile Outside of the Village**

A boy of around sixteen years of age sat at the edge of a calm stream under the shade of an overhanging willow tree with a fishing rod clutched between his hands.

(Something to be noted about this boy is that he also has long blue hair and although you have now seen two examples of blue haired people it is definitely not a very common hair colour in this world).

As a fish tugged on the fishing line the boy quickly pulled up on the rod causing the fish to come flying out of the water and onto the ground nearby.

"Alright, a mackerel!" the boy yelled ecstatically as he held up two fingers in a peace sign and winked.

Quickly pulling out his dirk the boy gutted and cleaned the fish before throwing it into a rucksack, picking up his fishing rod and heading back towards the village whistling happily.

After several minutes the boy entered the village and walked up to the largest building at the head of the village. He opened up the door and stepped inside with a huge grin on his face.

"I'm home!"

His grin was quickly wiped off his face as the blue haired woman from earlier rushed down the stairs in the house to give the boy a whack over the head and start yelling abuse at him.

"DO YOU KNOW HOW LONG I'VE BEEN OUT LOOKING FOR YOU RYU!? I SWEAR THAT YOU HAVE GOT TO BE THE MOST TROUBLESOME BROTHER IN THE WORLD!"

The boy (whom we now know to be Ryu) had a look of shock on his face as his sister continued to yell at him. Eventually Ryu's sister calmed down and started to take deep breathes as Ryu quickly stammered out an apology.

"I-I'm really sorry about that Sara, I didn't know that you were looking for me. If you want I can cook the mackerel I caught for your dinner."

Sara looked at Ryu and a smile flittered across her face.

"I'm the one who should be apologising Ryu. It's just that tomorrow is going to be such an important day for you and I want you to prepare as much as you can."

"Thanks for caring about me sis. I know that tomorrow is my coming of age ceremony but I just don't see the whole point in the ceremony. You and the rest of the village know that no member of our clan has the Power of the Dragon in them anymore so the ceremony doesn't serve any real purpose nowadays."

A strange look came across Sara's face for a moment.

"Are you ok sis?" asked Ryu.

Sara looked up and smiled at Ryu the strange look seeming to have disappeared from her face.

"Yeah I'm ok Ryu. You're right; no-one in our clan has the power of the Dragon anymore."

"Ok, well in that case I better start cooking your dinner" Ryu said before rushing over to the kitchen.

As soon as he was gone Sara sighed and then turned her face to the heavens.

"_I worry for you Ryu. If only you knew that I had the Power of the Dragon; that I am one of the strongest Dragons that has ever been seen in our clan. I just pray that you will not be burdened with this cursed power."_

When Ryu served dinner nothing seemed out of the ordinary. The village chief and the woman everyone affectionately referred to as Grandma came by and chatted as usual. When all the food was eaten Ryu and Sara washed the dishes then bid each other goodnight before heading off to their rooms.

Ryu lay in bed, staring at the patterns of light being made on the ceiling by the flickering candle at his bedside.

"_I will do my best to make you proud tomorrow Sara. Even if I have no real interest in the ceremony I will make sure that I do not let you down."_

Ryu blew out the candle and settled into a more comfortable position as sleep slowly overtook him.

"_It is dark…so dark and foreboding…what is happening…wait what is that?"_

Slowly a large fearsome creature came into visualisation. Great wings flapping mightily, long tail swaying.

"_A dragon...why is a Dragon here?"_

The magnificent creature opened its large maw.

"**Wake up warrior! Disaster has struck. We need the power of the Dragon!"**

The dragon faded out of sight its words still echoing around the empty space.

"**YOU'LL PERISH IF YOU DON'T WAKE UP!"**

Ryu bolted upright in his bed, sweat beading on his forehead. The first thing he noticed was the scorching heat, the second was Grandma standing beside him yelling.

"The village is engulfed in flames! Everything is burning! We must go!"

Without another word Grandma ran out of the room leaving Ryu to jump out of bed and run after her, stopping only to grab his dirk and rucksack. As Ryu caught up to where Grandma was a wall of flames burst out of the ground, blocking Ryu's path.

"I'll stop this fire"said Grandma.

Ryu watched as Grandma chanted eerie words. As he watched, a sparkling light formed in her hands until she seemed to push it into the fire. The flames disappeared in a bright flash along with the sparkling light.

"My magic was once strong, but at my age I can barely douse this fire" Grandma said as she breathed heavily.

Without another word Ryu and Grandma ran down the stairs and into the ground floor of the building.

It seemed as if everyone in the village was gathered in the room, all of the frantically talking among themselves.

As Ryu walked towards the doorway of the building he noticed that Sara was not anywhere to be seen.

"Oh the humanity! This is terrible"

Everyone looked towards the door as a young man rushed in.

"The Dark Dragons are outside of the village! We're surrounded!" the young man said as he rushed towards to elder.

Everyone looked as the village chief spoke.

"The Dark Dragon Family is scheming against the other dragon families!"

The young man quickly faced the chief and spoke again.

"I hear that Zog, the Dark Dragon King, vowed to conquer the world. And his first target is the Light Dragons!

"Zog is an evil fool!"

Ryu looked around to see Sara standing in the doorway, having walked in when everyone was looking at the chief.

"Why is Zog trying to destroy us?" the chief asked worriedly.

Grandma stepped forward and spoke next.

"Zog fears us! He doesn't know that we have lost the Power of the Dragon!"

The chief walked forward and stomped the ground a few times before yelling.

"I won't sit by while they attack us! I say we act now! If we can't escape, there's only one thing to do! Fight!"

The townspeople began to cheer but Ryu noticed that Sara slowly shook her head. Ryu barely heard Grandma talking about using her magic to fight as Sara stepped forward again.

"Wait! We are too weak. Our group will be devastated by their powerful army."

Everyone looked at Sara in a confused manner as the young man from earlier walked towards Sara.

"We can't give up! Let's show them the spirit of the Dragon!" he said as looked around the crowd. "C' mon Sara! Let's go!"

"No…I must do my part on my own" Sara said as a ball of sparkling energy formed in her hands and then flew into the young man knocking him back.

The young man had turned a dull grey, he didn't move at all.

"What have you done?" asked the village chief.

"I've turned him to stone so that the fire will not affect him. Remember our mission as members of the Light Dragon clan" Sara said sadly.

"Stone or not, they'll still find us!" cried the elder.

Sara shook her head as another ball of energy formed in her hands before spiralling outwards hitting all of the villagers.

"No! Why does it have to be you?" cried the chief before he too was turned to stone.

"We've suffered enough. I'll take care of the Dark Dragons" Sara said softly as she turned towards Ryu.

Ryu stood there trembling as the stone virus crept up his body; already he could no longer feel his legs. Sara looked at him and a look of sorrow came over her face before she walked up to him.

"Be strong. When you're a warrior, you'll bring peace to the world." Sara said as she laid a glowing hand on Ryu's forehead, her fingers tracing the strange scar there.

Ryu's body stiffened as the last of the stone took hold of him. Sara looked at the statue of her brother for a moment before turning to leave.

"_He resisted the spell when none of the others could, not even Grandma who could use magic. He has the Power of the Dragon and I can sense it is mighty."_

Turning around one last time Sara bowed her head in prayer.

"Take care! May the Power of the Light Dragon prevail!"

**Many Hours Later**

*Thud*

Ryu picked himself off the ground and rubbed his nose where it had hit the floor first. Looking around, Ryu noticed the other villages worriedly talking among themselves. Someone was standing up talking to the crowd about going out and fighting but Ryu barely heard them. Only one thought was running through the young boys mind.

"_Where is Sara…where did she go…what has she done?"_

Ryu was shaken out of his thoughts by the sudden shaking of the room. The floor cracked and pieces of burnt timber fell from the rafters as the supports slowly gave way due to the damage from the fire. By the time the shaking stopped all of the townspeople except for the Chief and Grandma had fled the building. They looked at him before nodding.

"You're going to go find Sara aren't you Ryu?" asked Grandma.

"Yes and while I'm at it I'm going to kill Zog for destroying our village and causing everyone such grief" Ryu replied.

"I had a feeling you would say that. I also want to give Zog something to think about very painfully but I'm too old and would only slow you down. Take this bag of 100 gold pieces to help you on your way" said the chief.

"Thank you chief. Thank you Grandma. I won't let you down!" Ryu said before running out of the house, the bag of money clutched in one hand and his dirk clutched in the other.

**An Hour Later**

Ryu walked along an overgrown road that connected his home town of Drogen with another town called Camlon. He had taken the time to organise his inventory of belongings. The fire had destroyed all of the items he had left behind so all he had left was his dirk, the clothes he was wearing, the money the chief had given him and a herb that was in his rucksack. Out of all the items Ryu wanted to have with him now, his old fishing rod was number one on the list.

"If I had my fishing rod I could catch some fish to eat because I am starving right now! What am I going to eat until I get to the next town?"

As if in answer Ryu spotted a berry bush growing along the roadside. However, as if to spite him a slime decided to eat the berries first. Ryu watch aghast as the berries were enveloped within the gooey mass. He could see them sitting within the somewhat transparent body of the slime, undamaged.

Ryu drew his dirk and charged forward at the slime yelling a battle cry.

"30 SECOND RULE!!!"

**25 Seconds Later**

Ryu: *burp*

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So tell me, what did you think?  
I am hoping to get some of my usual random flair into this story but you may have to wait for me to get my head around all of this work.  
Well write some reviews, I won't stop you!  
I do tolerate flaming...I just don't like it though.

~LinkHammer~

P.S: To all my other readers who follow my other stories, I will continue updating them. I just don't know when I will.


	2. Determined Start

Chapter 2 YAAAAY!!!!!!!!  
This story is a novelisation of the events that transpire in Breath of Fire I. Of course I have thrown in a few of my own scenes and dialouge.

_'Breath of Fire' isn't owned by me. I have nothing to do with Breath of Fire except playing the game.  
'Breath of Fire' belongs to Capcom and Square Enix_

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Ryu stumbled along the road trying to keep his eyes open as the darkness of night took over the sky. He felt completely exhausted from lack of food, the long walk and the many encounters with monsters. Out of all the enemies Ryu had faced so far he hated the Bullas the most; those bull like creatures charged at him at high speed with their sharp horns lowered whenever they caught sight of Ryu's red cape.

"_I never thought that it would be this hard"_ Ryu thought as he wiped the sweat from his brow. _"Well thinking like that won't get me any closer to saving Sara."_

Shaking his head, Ryu looked up to see the walls of a large town rising in the distance. A look of relief came across his face at the prospect of a warm bed and good food. With some new determination in mind Ryu settled his rucksack more comfortably on his back, sheathed his dirk and set out running.

**A Few Minutes Later**

"YOU CANNOT BE SERIOUS!!"

The people of Camlon turned towards the crumbling entrance of their town to see the figure of a young, soot covered, exhausted boy with long blue hair who was panting loudly with a look of frustration on his face. A middle aged man walked up to Ryu with a look of concern on his face.

"Are you ok lad?" the man asked.

"Of course I'm not ok! My town has been destroyed, my sister has been kidnapped and now I find that this town is also so badly damaged that I can't even have a place to rest before going off to save my sister and defeat Zog!" Ryu yelled.

"…….sheesh, you have quite a temper there lad. Well it's not all happy and flowery here either you know. Our lives have also been ruined by the Dark Dragons. My home town of Nanai was taken over and now I've retreated here only to find that the castle is filled with foul beasts and while they are there no one is able to rest and rebuild!" the man replied with a hint of rising anger.

Ryu looked down at his feet, ashamed that his anger had taken hold.

"…I'm sorry mister; it's just that everything seems so hard. I shouldn't think only about myself but about the feelings of others as well. Thank you for making me realise that" Ryu said softly.

"That's ok lad. Stay here for a bit to recover. The Dragon Shrine should be empty and though it's not the most comfortable place, the monsters seem to keep away from it."

Nodding in appreciation, Ryu walked towards a small dome like structure that was identical to the one back in Drogen. Stepping inside the shrine Ryu was astonished by how warm and bright it was inside. In the centre of the building was the statue of a proud, wise looking dragon. For some reason Ryu felt inclined to touch the statue.

Walking up the stone steps and onto the dais, his footsteps echoing in still atmosphere, Ryu reached out a hand, his fingertips edging forward until the brushed against the tip of the dragons nose.

"**WELCOME YOUNG DRAGON!"**

Ryu fell over backwards in surprise, landing heavily on his backside as the statue dissolved to leave a glowing, green, ghostly dragon with…a long white beard and moustache!?

"**I SEE YOU ARE SURPRISED. I SUPPOSE I WOULD BE AS SURPRISED AS YOU IF A STATUE TURNED INTO SOMETHING AS AWESOME AND HANDSOME LIKE ME!"**

Ryu looked at the Dragon Spirit (for that is what he assumed it was) and started to laugh, quietly at first but eventually building up in temp.

"**WHAT ARE YOU LAUGHING AT YOUNG DRAGON?"**

"Y-you say… th-at you are awe…some and… handsome" Ryu said between laughs. "That is…the fun-niest th…ing I have…ev-er heard!!."

"**SUCH IMPUDENCE! I SUPPOSE YOU ARE TOO YOUNG AND SIMPLE MINDED TO TRULY APPRECIATE MY MAGNIFICENCE"**

"Wha-tever" Ryu replied as he managed to stop his laughter and sit up.

"**I SEE THERE IS NO HOPE IN THIS CONVERSATION AND SO I BID THEE GOODNIGHT YOUNG DRAGON! SLEEP WELL FOR I AM WATCHING OVER YOU!! NO MONSTER SHALL HURT THEE FOR THEY ALL FEAR MY AWESOME POWER!!! LADIES SWOON OVER ME FOR MY BRAVERY!!!! NO FORCE IN THIS WORLD IS GRE-"**

"JUST SHUT-UP AND LET ME GO TO SLEEP BEFORE YOUR HEAD BECOMES TOO BIG FOR ME TO SLEEP INSIDE!!" Ryu shouted.

"_**THE NERVE OF THIS YOUNGER GENERATION"**_

**The Next Day**

Ryu rolled over in his sleep and in doing so he managed to fall off the edge of the dais and into the small ring of water that surrounded the dais.

*SPLASH*

"What the hell!!" Ryu shouted as clambered out of the water, his hair having fallen over his face.

"**I SEE YOU ARE AWAKE YOUNG DRAGON!"**

Ryu look up to see the Dragon Spirit floating above him with a mocking smile on his face. Letting out a depressed sigh Ryu shook his head miserably.

"And I thought you were just a dream. Why do I seem to have the worst luck in the world?"

"**I ALOSE SEE THAT YOU HAVE STILL GOT TO LEARN MANNERS BEFITTING AN AUDIENCE WITH MY MAGNIFICENT PERSONA! WHY I'LL HAVE YOU KNOW THAT I AM DESCENDED FROM A HIGHLY REFINED ROYAL DRAGON BLOODLINE AND THAT……HEY WHERE'D YOU GO!!?"**

Outside of the Dragon Shrine, Ryu had finally managed to get his hair out of his face. Looking around he could make out the exact damage done to the town. Roofs were caved in, doorways had collapsed, the pavement was cracked, windows had shattered and pieces of stone and timber were scattered everywhere. Apart from the Dragon Shrine the only other seemingly undamaged building was the castle located at the head of the town. Standing at the doorway of the castle was a lavishly dressed old man and several other well dressed men.

"_They look important; maybe they can tell me something about Zog?" _Ryu thought as he walked towards the castle.

"Uh, excuse me. I was wondering if you could help me with something?" Ryu asked when he reached the people.

Turning around, the lavishly dressed man looked Ryu up and down before smiling.

"What can I do for you lad?" the man asked.

"I was wondering if you could tell me anything about Zog? You see his minions also destroyed my home and took away my sister" Ryu said.

"I am sorry to hear of that. However, I am afraid that I can do nothing for you right now. You see, any information I could have given you would be in my castle here. While it is under the control of the monsters, there is nothing that I am able to do for you" the man replied.

"What about your soldiers? Why haven't they defeated the monsters yet?" asked Ryu.

"These monsters are mighty and my soldiers are too tired and afraid to do anymore than guard the gates of this town" the man replied.

Ryu looked at the castle with its thick wooden doors and tall stone walls.

"_It's possible that there are things in that castle that can help me defeat Zog and find Sara. I need any help I can get"_ Ryu thought.

Turning back to the lavishly dressed man Ryu's face took on a look of determination.

"Sir, I will get rid of the monsters for you and restore the castle to its rightful glory" Ryu said strongly.

"I'm afraid that I cannot allow you to set one foot within that castle young boy. It is much too dangerous for one such as you" the king said sadly (yeah he is the king.

Ryu stared at him for a moment before clearing his throat and standing tall.

"If this is too dangerous for me then there is no hope of me ever finding my sister…How can I allow a few monsters to stop me in my quest before I have even begun!?"

People stopped what they were doing and turned to stare at Ryu. The king started to shake his head and the soldiers bowed their heads.

"_They won't listen to what I say…I know I don't look like much right now but I'll be damned if I give up now!" _Ryu thought.

With that in mind Ryu made a sudden dash towards the castle doors. The king reached out to stop him but Ryu was too fast, being able to duck under the outstretched hand. Soldiers rushed at Ryu as he pushed the great wooden doors open. A foul stench blew out of the open doors followed by horrible sounds and cackling laughter. The soldiers stopped in their tracks and turned pale as sheets. Ryu staggered from the smell and his ears rang loudly. Putting one foot in front of the other Ryu staggered inside. A sudden strong gust of wind came up and before Ryu could stop it, the great doors slammed shut, sealing tight.

"_Well I've really stuck my foot in it now" _Ryu thought as he scanned the dimly lit corridor. _"Nothing to do now but move forwards."_

Meanwhile, outside everyone was in a panic. Soldiers charged at the doors trying to break them open, but they were sealed shut; almost as if some force wanted only Ryu in there.

"What do we do your majesty? The boy will be torn apart" one adviser said.

"How can he do anything? All he's got is a dirk and some clothes that monsters will tear through easily. There's no way the boy can fight" the other adviser said.

The king held up a hand to silence everyone before calmly speaking.

"It's true that he doesn't look like much; a young lad, drenched in water, bruises on his body armed only with a dirk. But did any of you see it? When the wind blew, his hair moved and I saw a scar. A scar shaped like a Dragon right in the middle of his forehead. I may not know much about Zog but I remember a legend about that scar."

"What do you mean?" asked a woman.

"That boy has the spirit of a warrior resting within his heart; a strong power of good rests within that boy. If anyone can save us, it's that lad…all we can do is wait" the king said calmly as he stood back and merely watched the castle with a look of hope on his face.

**Back Inside**

Ryu breathed heavily as he wiped some green blood off his dirk. The bodies of large bug like creatures lay on the ground in front of him, their bodies sliced open and their innards spilling out. Ryu inspected a bite wound on his leg where one of the monsters had gotten in close. A small trickle of blood flowed out of the wound but that wasn't what concerned Ryu. It was the strange numb feeling that enveloped the area of the wound and seemed to spread with every moment. Standing up, Ryu began to walk forward stumbling every so often due to the numbness.

A trio of slimes came around a corner where they immediately began to attack Ryu by lashing out at him with their transformable body mass. As another tentacle like appendage struck Ryu on the arm he sliced it off with his dirk. Rushing forward Ryu stabbed one slime through its centre and into the small nucleus before turning and slashing away half of another slime. The two damaged slimes retreated while the final one writhed on the ground before dissolving to reveal a herb within its body. Ryu bent over to grab the herb but his injured leg suddenly gave way, causing him to fall on his face. Ryu clutched his throbbing head as the numbness in his leg suddenly spread even quicker around his body.

"_Poison…that's what it is"_ Ryu thought weakly as he staggered to his feet and stumbled forward.

In the distance he could hear running water, causing him to move faster at the prospect of clearing his mind. He rounded the next corner to come into a room with a large area of water with a wall fountain. Rushing towards it, Ryu fell over, plunging head first into the icy liquid. Water filled his mouth and Ryu swallowed while trying to get out. As the water entered his digestive system Ryu felt the numbness slowly recede; slowly at first but as he drank more it withdrew even quicker.

"_So this water has healing powers. What I wouldn't give for a container of some description right now" _Ryu thought.

Cupping some of the water in his hands, Ryu washed the bite on his leg. A brief look of shock came over his face as the wound slowly closed. The shock was quickly replaced with a grin as Ry slowly stood up. As the shrill battle cry of an angry Beak sounded, the grin on Ryu's face seemed to grow larger.

From outside, the townspeople could faintly hear the sound of fighting quickly followed by an agonising scream. One advisor worriedly suggested that it might have been the boy however, the king merely shook his head. The boy had already said it before.

"_**How can I allow a few monsters to stop me in my quest before I have even begun!?"**_

**

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**

Well I hope that you also enjoyed that chapter. I would like to especially thank for reviewing the first chapter.  
If I only got one review for chapter 1 then logic dictates that chapter 2 will get me 2 reviews.....imagine if chapter 100 if that logic existed.  
Well regardless, if you read this then please review. I don't mind if it is a flame, as long as it shows that people are reading this stuff.

Catcha

~LinkHammer~


	3. Cleansing the Castle

Hi, LinkHammer here yet again. Sorry about how long it took me to update. You see I already had this chapter done weeks ago...however my files crashed and I lost all copies. I didn't feel like writing it out again so I just didn't do anything. However, because I like this story I got my act together and redid the chapter in the last few days.  
By the way, my birthday is on the 19th (aka: tomorrow...for me anyway)  
Well enjoy!

This story is a novelisation of the events that transpire in Breath of Fire I. Of course I have thrown in a few of my own scenes and dialouge.

_'Breath of Fire' isn't owned by me. I have nothing to do with Breath of Fire except playing the game.  
'Breath of Fire' belongs to Capcom and Square Enix_

It had been a long time since Ryu had entered the castle, how long? Well he didn't quite know that, though he was fairly certain that it was nearing mid-day from the slight increase in heat and his expertly honed survival instincts…namely he was getting hungry.

"Man, why does this Castle have to be so damn huge" Ryu mumbled to himself as he walked along the corridor.

"I can just bet the area I need to get to was not that far from the entrance of the Castle, it's just that all of the rubble blocked it off causing me to walk around in a needlessly long and exhausting pattern…this is nothing like the stories that Granny used to tell back home"

At the mention of home, Ryu's head drooped a little as memories of only a few days ago came back. Even though the recent disaster had only happened a few days, it already felt like months had passed to the young warrior. Shaking his head as if to clear those depressing thoughts, Ryu continued to walk further along the corridor.

**Later…**

"ALRIGHT!"

Ryu stood in a small room in front of an open chest, proudly holding up what seemed to be a fairly new/unused bronze sword. The sword was longer than his Dirk and so would mean extra reach for slightly less dangerous combat. However, it was also heavier than the Dirk and Ryu was inexperienced in the art of using a real sword.

"_I'd better keep my Dirk close at hand just in case something happens"_ Ryu thought as he managed to temporarily attach the sword to his back with his Dirk staying attached to the belt around his waist.

Looking back in the chest, Ryu sighed as he pulled out a small bundle of green leaves, the common healing herb. Ryu had already acquired several of these bundles found on monsters and in various other chests throughout the castle.

"_I suppose I can always eat it for lunch" _Ryu thought as his stomach rumbled slightly.

Ryu was broken out of his thoughts by the shriek of challenge from a lone Beak. The Beak charged forward through the air as Ryu sidestepped and reached back to unhook his new sword. Ryu grasped the sword with two hands as he crouched back in what he had found to be a good defensive position. The Beak turned back and let out another shriek before charging Ryu again. The young warrior mostly blocked the Beak's attack earning only a small peck on the shoulder and pushed it backwards before slashing across, scoring a deep cut along the Beak's body. After that, the Beak was not as agile and soon found itself gutted from a well placed slash from Ryu.

After wiping the blood from his sword, Ryu managed to once again attach it to his back before turning to climb some steps that marked the end of the corridor. As his stomach growled in hunger once again Ryu looked back at the dead Beak and a thought crossed his mind. _"If I'm really desperate I suppose that I could try eating it."_

He quickly changed his mind from food as a strong stench began to emanate from the room above. Climbing the steps Ryu found himself in the main room of the Castle, near the entrance in one of the areas that had been blocked off by rubble. As Ryu walked further, the smell continued to grow stronger and stronger until he came across yet another set of stairs. The smell was definitely coming from the next room.

"_I suppose this is where the classical boss monster is to be found"_ Ryu thought as he reached back to grab his sword before carefully ascending the stairs, looking about for signs of monsters.

The room was definitely the best to be found in the entire castle, despite the damaged walls and fading paintwork. Old brass candle stands lined a path that led forwards to a worn, stone throne. As Ryu walked forward a sudden booming voice sounded.

"WHO DARES ENTER MY CASTLE!"

Ryu jumped slightly as he quickly looked around, trying to see some sort of powerful monster, all to no success.

"DOWN HERE PATHETIC HUMAN!"

Ryu looked back towards the throne and noticed for the first time that there was a small frog like creature with orange spikes on its back sitting comfortably on the royal seat. Ryu stared at the glaring animal for a bit before letting out a slight chuckle.

"WHAT ARE YOU LAUGHING AT!" the small but loud toad bellowed.

Ryu continued to laugh before standing up straight with a grin upon his face.

"Honestly, what do you think I'm laughing at? I've fought my way through heaps of monsters to find that the feared boss is a tiny toad. I don't even need a sword, just come here and let me stomp on you" Ryu smirked.

"WELL IF YOU INSIST, I SUPPOSE I SHOULD COME TO YOU!" the Yoad bellowed before leaping off the throne.

Ryu began to walk forward until the toad bellowed out something else. "HOWEVER, I'M THE ONE WHO WILL DO THE STOMPING!"

With that a huge cloud of foul smelling purple smoke billowed up around the toad causing Ryu to stumble backwards, coughing and waving his hand in front of his face to fan away the smoke. As the smoke cleared away, Ryu's eyes opened wide in terror. Where once had stood a tiny toad, now stood a huge one that was at least three times his hight and five times his width, with a mouth that looked big enough to swallow him whole.

"NOW COME HERE SO *I* CAN SQUISH YOU HUMAN!" the toad bellow again before stomping one of its oversized, clawed feet.

Ryu felt the ground vibrate from the impact as the candle stands rocked slightly. Looking back up at the toad, Ryu gripped his sword tightly, his knuckles turning white as he crouched into his defensive position.

**Meanwhile Outside…**

The villagers of Camlon had gathered around outside of the entrance of the castle where the king had stood ever since Ryu had entered. All of them had faintly heard bellowing of the toad and they had all felt the slight tremor caused by its stomping. The guards had split off into two groups, one to defend the village entrance and the other group to make sure no monsters came out of the castle.

"Do you think that the kid is okay?" asked one of the nervous townspeople.

"…Well judging by the activity going on up there, he's either still fighting or the monsters are celebrating" another townsperson replied.

The king slowly turned to face the townspeople, all of them immediately falling quiet as the waited in anticipation for what he would say.

"My people, I believe that the boy is still alive and fighting with all his strength for each and every one of us. We must think positively and pray for his safety. May the Goddess look over him and deliver him safely back to us."

Silence followed, people bowing their heads and muttering various prays to the goddess or muttering curses on the monsters.

Inside of the Dragon Shrine, the stone statue slowly dissolved as the dragon spirit emerged from his slumber. The spirit smiled as he also bowed his head.

"**Ladon, the Dragon God, look after this child of our tribe and curse the folly of the Goddess Tyr. She has no idea what she is dealing with."**

**Back Inside the Castle…**

*THUMP*

Ryu staggered to his feet, his head throbbing from the recent impact and clutching his arm where the Toad had scored a cut with its claws. Blood leaked between his fingers slowly dripping down his arm. The Toad sniffed the air, and slightly opened its mouth, its thick purple tongue tasting the air.

"I CAN SMELL YOUR FEAR HUMAN, I CAN ALMOST TASTE THE BLOOD. ENOUGH PLAYING AROUND, I'M HUNGRY!"

The Toad's tongue lashed at Ryu suddenly like a whip, knocking him backwards and causing him to almost lose a grip on his sword. The tongue coiled back, the Toad watching Ryu's movements and waiting to strike again. Gripping his sword tightly, Ryu made a dash towards a nearby pillar, hoping to find a temporary barricade. The Toad's tongue lashed out again, knocking Ryu over and curling around his right foot, slowly dragging him backwards towards the Toad's gaping mouth. Ryu had dropped his sword in shock from the Toad's attack.

"_Sh*t! Am I gonna die here!" _Ryu thought as the Toad let out mocking laughter.

As he got closer and closer to the Toad, Ryu heard the sound of metal scraping on stone. Looking down he saw his Dirk slowly coming out of its sheath from the dragging motion. Ryu quickly reached and grabbed the weapon before it could be lost and held it tightly. Two scenarios played out inside Ryu's head.

"_One: I can attempt to cut myself free while also severely damaging the Toad"_

"_Two: I can try an attack from inside the Toad's mouth where the flesh is softest"_

Of the two scenarios it seemed to Ryu that the first was definitely the safest and most fail proof. With that in mind he quickly stabbed into the tongue earning a howl of pain from the Toad. The Toad loosened its hold on Ryu enabling him to release himself and then to stab the tongue again, this time also slicing downwards. Pulling his Dirk out, Ryu ran back towards the pillar grabbing his sword along the way as the Toad writhed in agony, sending blood spraying against the walls as its injured tongue whipped about.

"_My leg's getting numb, I guess the Toad's saliva has some sort of anaesthetic…hey I used a big word!"_ Ryu thought as he rubbed his leg, trying to get some feeling back into it.

On the bright side, some saliva has splashed his shoulder so he didn't feel much pain from the gash there. On the dark side there was the fact that it was probably going to get infected from the bacteria that only Ladon could probably count.

The Toad stopped thrashing around and bellowed in fury as it made a mad dash at the pillar Ryu was hiding behind. Ryu managed to get out of the way before the Toad and falling stone could harm him. Though the Toad's tactic had forced Ryu out of hiding, it also had a side effect. The force of the impact, and the falling stonework that hit the toad had dazed it a little, making it harder for it to concentrate upon its target. As it made a wild attack, Ryu managed to dodge whilst also running forward, only slightly slowed down from the numbness in his leg. Ryu swung at the Toad's head hoping to score a critical hit. However, what he didn't know was that the Toad had a large ridge of bone protruding from its forehead. The force of hitting this solid mass badly jarred Ryu's hands, almost making him drop the sword.

Taking advantage of this, the Toad managed to score a slight blow on Ryu's midsection, forcing him backwards outside of his range of attack. Ryu looked at the Toad trying to determine a weak spot, whilst the Toad readied for another attack. Just as the Toad sprang into the air, Ryu had an idea and ran forward as fast as he could. The Toad landed where Ryu had been standing with enough force to have squashed the boy.

Due to his tactic, Ryu now found himself with an opportunity to attack from the rear. Without wasting time Ryu ran towards to the Toad and leapt onto its back, quickly scaling upwards with assistance from the mass of spikes protruding from the Toad's back. The Toad twisted and turned trying to dislodge Ryu from his position, however, it was too late. Ryu grabbed his sword with two hands and plunged it as far as he could into the Toad's right eye. Quickly releasing his sword he performed the same procedure to the Toad's left eye, using his Dirk.

The Toad screamed in agony and started writhing in its death throes, the blade of Ryu's sword having pierced its brain. The force of the convulsions threw Ryu of its back to hit the floor heavily, knocking the breath out of him. As the Toad stilled, Ryu slowly gave into darkness as he began fading into unconsciousness. Just as he fell unconscious, a fresh wind blew throughout the Castle, clearing out the stench of monsters, whilst driving the remaining monsters away.

**Outside…**

The villagers heard horrible screaming noises coming from within the castle, followed by crashing and then…silence. Not a moment later, a sudden gust of wind blew past everyone, blasting open the sealed front doors with a large bang. Soldiers grasped their weapons whilst children clutched at their mothers' skirts and the townspeople muttered in fear. The all stood there for several minutes waiting; waiting to see the hordes of monsters they were sure would appear…but didn't. The king stepped forward towards the open doors, standing tall and proud. Two soldiers flanked him as he continued to walk forwards until he stood in the doorway. Turning around he raised his hand and then began to speak.

"My people, it is evident that something remarkable has happened. The halls are silent, the air is fresh and the aura of evil is no longer felt. We are freed from the terror we have faced for ages and it is all thanks to one boy who stepped forward with courage when no-one else would. A complete stranger to our town who shared a common goal. He is still inside, possible dead. It is up to us to retrieve his body and if he is still alive, nurse him back to health. Those who wish to follow me, come. The rest of you, begin repairs. We shall rebuild our town and hold a celebration!"

**One Day Later…**

"Uhhh, my head…"

Ryu slowly sat up, clutching at his throbbing head as he tried to remember what he had been doing before hand. The Castle, the monsters, the death of the Toad…then nothing.

"_What happened afterwards? …And where am I?"_ Ryu thought as he looked around to take in his surroundings.

He was lying on a comfortable bed in a neat room with a few pictures hanging on the plain white, though slightly cracked walls. As he continued to look around, the door opened to admit the figure of the king of Camlon, sleeves rolled up and sweating.

"Ah, I see you're awake young warrior!"

"What happened?" Ryu asked.

The king smiled and told of how they had found him lying unconscious on the ground next to the carcass of the Toad and how they had then carried him back to the old town inn where he had been resting for an entire day.

"Right now we are all working to rebuild our town, we are starting with the houses and shops and then we are going to finish with the castle. Putting the people before royalty is the way to go" the king said with a smile as he wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead.

"Let me help" Ryu said as tried to get out of bed.

The king raised his hand and shook his head.

"Rest for now warrior, I'm afraid we'll need you for more things than rebuilding later on" he said solemnly.

"What do y-" Ryu started to say until the room began to shake and a vase fell off of the nearby table.

As the quake settled down, the king sighed sadly.

"The Dark Dragons have found Quake Control in the dungeons of Nanai and we need you to go stop them!"

Well, what did you think of that? Not bad for a couple of days work, even if I do say so myself...which I did :)  
Ok, you guy know the drill, press the green review button and let me hear your thoughts as I cannot read minds.  
Thank you for reading and for all of the reviews I have recieved so far.  
Flame if you want but don't go overboard, it's not good for confidence.

~LinkHammer~


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